Global Film Emperor

Chapter 177 The Boxing King (1)

"Bang bang. bang."

At 8 p.m., a loud bang came from the empty boxing gym. A tall and burly man kicked the heavy bag again and again with sweeping kicks. The intervals between each kick were very even, and the power was amazing.

Now he was all alone in the boxing gym, surrounded by darkness, with only a single incandescent light shining above his head. The light wasn't bright enough, but you could see his glistening sweat and the dust floating in the air.

He kicked out with his last kick, grabbed a yellowed white towel to wipe his forehead, put on his boxing gloves, and started other exercises. By the time he finished training, it was almost ten o'clock.

After mopping the floor and placing the other fitness equipment in their proper places, he carried the shower basket into the bathroom, took off his clothes, turned on the shower, and let the cold water wash over his muscular body.

I picked up a 50-cent bag of Head & Shoulders shampoo and tried to tear it open, but my hands were a bit slippery and I couldn't tear it after two tries. In the end, I just bit the bag open with my teeth, squeezed it onto my head, and used just one bag of shampoo to scrub my whole body. After rinsing it clean, I changed into a clean set of clothes, stuffed my sweaty old clothes into my backpack, pushed open the door of the boxing gym, and locked it.

He hadn't gone far when he caught the last bus that was about to depart. He sat on a single seat, holding his schoolbag, his head resting against the window, looking out at the increasingly bustling scenery.

A little further ahead from where you got off the bus is a food street, or rather, an urban village. Various snacks are sold along the street, and there are quite a few people, but they don't seem to be well-off.

He walked into the alley and opened the door of a self-built four-story building. The stairwell was dark. He climbed the three steps to the third floor. Across the hall lived a mute old woman who greeted him with two "Ah-ba, ah-ba" sounds.

He nodded to the old lady, took out his key and turned the doorknob. He went inside. The living room light was still on. His mother was sitting in the middle of the living room sewing cross-stitch, but her eyesight was not very good. She had a mouthful of thread in her mouth and was squinting as she carefully threaded the needle.

He took the needle and thread, threaded it quickly, handed it to his mother, took off his schoolbag and coat and threw them on the sofa, turned on the kitchen light, brought the dishes from the stove to the dining table, ladled out a bowl of rice from the rice cooker, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, pulled out a chair, and silently ate with his back to his mother.

"I saw Xiao He today. I heard he's working at a big company now, and he found a girlfriend who's really beautiful. They're getting married at the end of the year."

The mother worked swiftly with her hands and kept talking, muttering to Wang Zewen about the day's events, but all she got in return was Wang Zewen's silence.

"Hey? Do you know where Xiao He works? It's only been a few years, and he already has a car, a house, and a wife."

"do not know."

Wang Zewen stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth, picked up a piece of shredded potato with his chopsticks, chewed quickly, and swallowed the rice before answering his mother's question.

“I even asked if their company was hiring, but I don’t know if they would hire you with your qualifications. I doubt it. Sigh. If only you hadn’t gone to learn boxing, you could have made a good living anywhere.”

His mother's words stung Wang Zewen slightly. He paused for a moment with his chopsticks, then casually tossed the shredded potatoes into the bowl. This kind of sarcastic remark had been going on for a long time, and he had gotten used to it.

"Why don't you go look for a job these next few days? Don't just stay at home doing nothing. My monthly pension is only eight hundred yuan, which isn't even enough to feed you."

"I have a job."

"You have a job? You clean up in the boxing gym? What young man can do that kind of job? I'm ashamed to even say it out loud, and you don't even earn that much. Your food expenses alone are two or three thousand a month. If I die, how will you survive?"

Her mother had made herself perfectly clear, but Wang Zewen remained silent and refused to answer, which angered her. She put down her needlework, sat on the other side of the dining table, and looked up at him.

"Go to the boxing gym and quit your job tomorrow. Listen to me. No matter where you work, whether you push a cart to run a small business or even become a security guard, don't go back to boxing. Six years have passed. Do you still see a way out?"

"It's possible to hit it."

"Boom! What a load of crap! Six years, not a single game in six years. Do I need to say anything more? If you had any shame, you should have found another job long ago."

Wang Zewen finished the last grain of rice in his bowl. As a big-bellied man who did a lot of physical training every day, one bowl of rice was definitely not enough. He looked up at his mother and prepared to get up to get another bowl. "Sit down! All you do is eat! Go help out at your second uncle's seafood stall tomorrow. I've told him to let you help out. I'll give you four thousand yuan a month."

"I'm not going; it would interfere with training."

He sat down upon hearing his mother's words, but the next moment he decisively rejected her, which greatly angered his mother.

“I’ve supported you to fight for twelve years, I don’t care about the money! Because you are my son, even if I had to collect scraps, I would never go hungry for you! But it’s been six years, and you haven’t fought a single match. You’re already twenty-six years old, do you still have a chance to fight?”

“I’ve been boxing for twelve years, since I was fourteen. How could I give it up? I’ve thought about quitting and finding another job, but I just keep thinking about it and can’t forget it. I’ve given you all the prize money from the competitions before, but I think it’s still a little short. I’ll pay you back when I get another chance to compete.”

Wang Zewen, who had been silent all along and didn't talk much, couldn't stay silent any longer and spoke for the first time. Although his expression was calm, his eyes revealed the firmness of his beliefs.

Why are you so stubborn and unwilling to see the truth?

"Because this is the life I'm used to, this is the life I chose, and I've stuck with it for so long. I don't want to change it, and I don't have the ability to change it. I've adapted to this kind of life. I'm not used to living a different way."

He didn't plan to eat this meal. He put down his chopsticks, got up, put on his coat, slung his backpack over his shoulder, pushed open the door, hesitated for a moment, and finally walked out of the room, leaving only his mother watching his back with a puzzled expression.

He might be what people call a rebellious son, a child who never listens to his mother's advice. He's 26 years old and could be settling down and starting a family, but his income is so low that he needs his mother's financial support.

But he gets up immediately every morning to run and train his physical fitness, spending his days with punching bags and boxing gloves. This lifestyle has been maintained for twelve years. Want to change? It's difficult for him, at least.

"Wen, where are you going so late?"

He grew up in this urban village, and most of the people running snack businesses here were his old neighbors. When he saw Wang Zewen, he greeted him.

"Let's go for a walk."

He made up a casual excuse, patted his stomach which was only a little full, pulled out a few loose coins (about seventy or eighty yuan) from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then walked into a small, unassuming restaurant.

"Awen? What brings you here?"

A simply dressed girl was delivering a case of beer to a group of teenagers who were drinking heavily. She deftly opened the box, opened the beer bottles, put the bottle caps in her apron pocket, and greeted Lu Ze with a bright smile when she stood up.

"Oh, I'll just have some rice. I'll have a stir-fried tofu with green peppers and a bowl of rice."

Wang Zewen liked this girl named Xing Qiuyue. He had liked her at first sight since his family opened a small restaurant here several years ago. It's quite embarrassing to say, but he was already twenty-six years old and still a novice in love.

"Wait a minute, Dad, I'll make it right away! It's stir-fried tofu with green peppers! Ah Wen wants some!"

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiled at Wang Zewen, and called out to the kitchen. The person inside responded, but the two did not exchange words afterward because she had to take care of her two five-year-old brothers and three-year-old sisters who were running around in the restaurant.

The food arrived quickly, and the portions were generous. Since they were all acquaintances, Wang Zewen wolfed down his meal, handed Xing Qiuyue seventeen yuan, and then turned to leave.

"."

(End of this chapter)